1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to neutron detectors, and specifically relates to detectors that utilize boron within a cathode.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Recently, high sensitivity neutron detectors for homeland security has become increasingly important and increasingly in demand. Many known neutron detectors utilize He-3, a neutron sensitive material known to provide a detector of high sensitivity. The He-3 is provided within a volume that includes a cathode within a detection arrangement. Recently, the availability of He-3 has been has become insufficient to satisfy the demand associated with high sensitivity neutron detectors. Other than He-3 there are only a few neutron sensitive materials that are useful for constructing a neutron detector, including certain isotopes of uranium, lithium and boron.
Focusing upon boron, the majority (e.g., approximately 80%) of available boron is B-11, which has 5 protons and 6 neutrons, and the remainder (e.g., approximately 20%) is Boron 10 (B-10), which has 5 protons and 5 neutrons. Only the B-10 isotope is useful for neutron detection. Thus, for use in a neutron detector, it is typically desirable to enrich the concentration of B-10.
As mentioned, the detection of neutrons is based on the generation of secondary radiations. With B-10 (10B) as the converter material, the reaction is described as follows when a neutron is captured:10B+n→.7Li+4α(2.792 MeV, grnd state) and 7Li+4α+0.48 MeV γ(2.310 MeV, excited state)
The energy released by the reaction is approximately 2.310 million electron volts (MeV) in 94% of all reactions (2.792 MeV in the remaining 6%), and equals the energy imparted to the two reaction products (the energy of the captured neutron is negligible by comparison). The reaction products, namely an alpha particle (α) and a lithium nucleus (7Li) are emitted isotropically from the point of neutron capture by B-10 in exactly opposite directions and, in the case of the dominant excited state, with kinetic energies of 1.47 MeV and 0.84 MeV, respectively.
A new generation of neutron detectors would be most beneficial if the new generation provided a similar level of neutron sensitivity and a discrimination of gamma rays without significant change to overall dimensions of the detectors. Another way of considering this idea is that the new generation of detectors must be physically similar to existing detectors so they can be easily retrofitted and must have comparable neutron sensitivity and gamma rejection as He-3.
Turning back to Boron B-10, as mentioned the use of B-10 as being capable of use for neutron detection is known. However, the use of B-10 in known sensor configurations (i.e., plated onto the cathode structure of known sensors) is associated with insufficient sensitivity when compared to a He-3 detector of similar geometry and design. Specifically, the plating on the cathode structure is relatively thin and such detectors achieve only a few percent efficiency, due to the fact that the thicknesses needed for a substantial capture of neutrons exceeds the escape range of the neutron capture reaction products. In one example, the optimal thickness of a B-10 coated detector is 0.4 mg/cm2. So in many instances, capture reaction products cannot escape. Only conversions of neutrons in a very thin layer near the surface of the B-10 adjacent the counting gas are detected efficiently. Since this very thin, top layer of the B-10 coating captures only a very small percentage of the incident neutrons, efficiency of a neutron detector of such simple design is understandably low.